Dodge City times., 1887-08-18
THE TIMES.
NOW AuASA GOT ON HIS
FEET.
NJ RrcKARp Il. ROE.

~ RlCRARD =. ROE.
Amasa Snow sat in his little law
ol6ce, his feet on the top rim of his
stove, and bis stove full of wood, and
rcd hot. His Office was about rod
from his house; and quite near the
high wooden gate leading into the vii
iage street. Over the door one read,
''Prothonotory and Attorney-at-law.
Il was = huge, faded sign in black let
ters; one could not go by Amasa Shows
oGce and not know of the business Of
its occupant. The trouble with the
sign Was it was not alluring enough.
Squire Slsyton, down the street, with a
very small sign and over grocery
store, and without big wide house,
family name and connection-Squire
Slayton somehow got all the business
there was going in East Chesterville.
Amasa Snow sat tilted back in his
wooden armchair, pulling his long chin
beard, scratching the few gray hairs in
his sloping gray head, and trying to
conjure up some new scheme by which
he could beat Slayton again, and defer
the foreclosure sale. He had defer
red it Eve times on one excuse and an
other; but Slayton had him this time;
there Was no help for,t. The old place
where his boyhood had been passed un-
I'll he went away to college, and where
he had lived ever since, and seen his
six girls grow up about him. His six
girlsl
He reached down and broke splin-
ter Of bit Of pine wood by the stove,
and began to chew hard on it. What
would become of the girls? Every one
. beauty in his eyes; every one worthy
Of marrying the governor of the state.
How could he tell that the sale of their
old home could be postponed no longer,
that every device and trick, and every
legal bubble, had been tried and tried
again? He looked out of the window;
Il Was raining. An April shower, to be
sure, with prospect of a golden sun
set later on, but making everything
outside under the trees look very, mud
dy and dismal. Amaso Snow felt very
much depressed. Fate appeared
against him. What was to be done?
He had borrowed from every one in the
town. He could borrow no longer. If
the old place were sold for twice its
value it would not pay his debts. He
had lived we'll, and the six motherless
girls had never known how poor he
was. ooh, he groaned, as he rose
and stood with his back to that hot
stove-'Oh, how can l get on my
feet?"
There were his law books-a couple
Of thousand dingy calf volumes, not
kept up to date, the inheritance from
the judge, his father, but even the law
books were 'chatteled, as they said.
e., mortgaged quite beyond their value.
Everything he had, in fact, was mort
gagged. He had come this wet April
day to the end of things. Next week
came the sale. He felt like saying
the deluge. He had not enough money
to take him and his family out west.
That was his plan-to go west. He
hardly felt his fifty years. He felt
young and energetic when he thought
Of the west. By-the-way, there was
his brother, Elisha-his brother who in
his youth was SO like him. He was
west, in California. He had not seen
him for twenty years. The last he had
heard from him was a request to send
on hundred dollars. That was five
years ago. He had sent him fifty, and
nothing had been heard since, except
his name endorsed across the back of
the check, showing that he had received
the money.
No, it WAS clear that Elisha could
never help him. Elisha had caused
him to lose s everal thousand dollars
once in mine. Elisha's name was
always great bugbear in the family
ever since. No Elisha could not be ex-
Pected to help him. Stay! An idea.
Amasa Snow began to poke the red hot
6re vigorously. 1t was bleak, raw
day, but the FIRE was hot enough in
that little Office if left alone. An idea
Elisha should be made to help him. 1t
was last hope, but it fired him with
enthusiasm. He reached up into a
dusty bookcase and got down file of
letters. He was looking for Elisha s
address.
Just the there came a tap at the
ONCE door. Amasa turned around.